Wes Streeting, shadow health secretary and MP for Ilford North has spelled out
how Labour will operate if elected to power at the next election. In an interviewwith the Tory paper the Daily Telegraph he emphasised that a future Labouradministration would combat "hostile" unions in the health service. He singledout the British Medical Association (BMA) the doctors' organisation forparticular attention. ---- He then went on to spell out that furtherprivatisation of the NHS would be implemented by Labour, and that the NHS musteither "reform or die". In an article in the Guardian newspaper on 8th Decemberhe stressed that "We would also be using spare capacity in the private sector tobring down waiting lists. Private providers have capacity for 130% of theprocedures they were doing for the NHS before the pandemic, but the governmenthasn't utilised it".Streeting is looking back to the Blair government and its increased use ofprivate companies within the NHS during the 1990s and early 2000s. He furtherbacked up his determination to bring more privatisation to the NHS in aninterview with Nick Robinson of the BBC where he said that using privatecompanies was "effective" under Blair and then Gordon Brown and that is was"popular with patients"(!). He went on to say in that interview that "No doubtthe next Labour government may have to use private sector capacity to bring downNHS waiting lists, and I won't shirk that for a minute to get people betterhealth outcomes."In the Telegraph interview Streeting said that the wage demands of both nursesand ambulance workers were "obviously unaffordable". Later his boss Keir Starmercommented on a radio phone-in that nurses' demands were "more than can be afforded".Streeting is a career politician who rose to the heights of the Labour Party viathe traditional route of many other careerists, the National Union of Students.He was twice President of the NUS and supported his predecessor Gemma Tumelty'sreforms of the NUS governance structures, seen by many as an attack on anydemocracy within it. Streeting supported the introduction of university tuitionfees as President.Like Starmer, Streeting is a strong supporter of NATO saying that Labour's"unshakeable support" for NATO proved that it could be trusted with nationalsecurity. He commented that "I think there are no longer any doubts that Labour -which has a long tradition of standing up for our armed forces - is a party thatwill back our military, will stand up for peace and security in Europe and alsorecognises the role Britain plays on the international stage to protect democracyand freedom from tyrants like Putin."Streeting represents the Labour Party that the ruling class is increasinglyturning to. With the likely scenario of Labour coming to power at the nextelection, we must be prepared for continuing austerity, and increasing attacks onthe working class.https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/12/31/the-real-face-of-labour/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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